


ride or die, baby

by coykoi



Series: Spideychelle Week 2020 [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: F/M, Road Trip, SOMEONE can’t drive, couples therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24851971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coykoi/pseuds/coykoi
Summary: Peter took one class of college psychology.And, now, he suddenly thinks he’s an expert in relationships.Michelle figures an eleven-hour road trip could probably prove him wrong.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Series: Spideychelle Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797901
Comments: 16
Kudos: 75





	ride or die, baby

**Author's Note:**

> wow spideychelle week? yes please :)

_“-the sun is shining through and through. It’s said to be one of the hottest days in New York history, so be prepared with bottles of water and plenty of ice—”_

The radio announcer’s voice comes through staticky and muffled, but Michelle doesn’t know if that’s due to the quality of the station or the quality of the car that they’re driving in. The frequency suddenly goes high-pitched, sending a jolt through her, and she immediately turns it off.

“Hey, I was listening to that,” Peter complains, his tone teasing as he tries to swat at her hand. Misses completely, but _she_ gets a good hit in, and he yelps. “MJ!”

“Stop humoring me. You didn’t even feel it,” Michelle tells him, deadpan, and he looks at her with a child-like grin. “Hey, hey, keep your eyes on the road, Parker. I don’t trust you enough to drive blind.”

“It’s not blind. I would totally sense it if I was going to hit something,” he grumbles but looks back at the open road in front of them.

Michelle nods sarcastically, throwing him a dry smile. “Oh. Yeah, of course. I’m sure you’ve tested that and everything.”

“Maybe…”

Betty suddenly pokes her head between the two seats, a saccharine smile on her face. “If the only thing you two are going to do is increase the chances of us getting into an accident, would it be better for me to jump out of the car now or later?”

“Hey, you and Ned were the ones to volunteer to be our first clients,” Peter points out. “Meaning you voluntarily decided to get into a car with me.”

“It was _not_ my idea.”

Michelle snorts. “I don’t blame you. We’re doing this on a whim, you know. Peter takes one psychology class, and he suddenly thinks he’s Freud.” She turns back to her boyfriend. “Are we bound to make millions? Because that’s the only reason I’d stick with it.”

“Maybe a...little less than millions. I mean, gas money is hella expensive,” he reasons, and she nods slowly. “But you’re my business partner, MJ. You can’t leave me.”

“I won’t leave you just yet. Not for a few more months,” she jokes, knowing that they can’t keep up a ‘business’ like this while being an ocean apart. “So, what are we calling it again?”

“Ride-or-Die Couples Therapy,” Peter decides, probably coming up with that off the top of his head. 

“Makes sense. If we ride with you, we’ll most likely die with you, too,” Betty remarks with a huff. 

Peter throws both of his hands up, leaving the wheel unattended. “Okay, can we stop insulting my driving? This isn’t about me.” He thankfully grabs it again, giving them a reassuring smile through the rearview mirror. The backseat passengers look terrified.

Ned eventually speaks up from his spot on the far right. “So. Couples therapy, huh? You think that being trapped in the back of this car is going to be enough to salvage a relationship?”

“Well...being trapped in the backseat of our car for eleven hours,” Peter elaborates, and Michelle thinks that there are a few bulging eyes.

“Eleven hours?”

“Eleven hours,” he repeats, unfazed. “See, the plan is that MJ and I are going to drive you two all the way to Chicago. And, yeah, it’s pretty far, but in my professional opinion, the longer you spend time together in close quarters, the better the results.”

“Our relationship isn’t even worth eleven hours,” Betty deadpans, sharing an identical look with Ned. “Is it too late to change my mind?”

“Unless you feel like jumping out of the car, it is too late,” Peter says, nodding. “I’d buckle up if I were you.”

“That sounded like a threat.”

“Oh, it totally was.” A beat of silence passes. “That was a joke.”

But then, Peter suddenly presses the break pedal too hard, and everyone jolts forward in their seats. When all of the car’s four wheels come back on the ground, he rubs the back of his neck, sheepish.

“Your driving is a joke.”

“So sorry,” he whispers, smiling tentatively. 

“I can’t believe I signed us up for this,” Ned utters, covering his face with both hands. “Not worth it. So not worth it.”

Peter frowns and twists in his seat to look at his best friend. “Hey, this road trip is what’s going to fix your relationship.”

“I said what I said.”

“And I agree,” Betty adds, keeping a firm grip on the upper handle. “Look, I don’t know about you, but I’m perfectly content with keeping our relationship as on-and-off-again. We just—” She’s cut off when they hit a big pothole, and her knuckles go white. “We just don’t work all of the time. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Ned nods vehemently, keeping both hands on his seatbelt. “Yeah, and we’re reaching the off-again part right now. That’s all.”

“Look, we’ve come to terms with everything within the first half-hour of couples therapy. You’ve done your job, we can get out of the car now,” Betty says, her words stringing together in a panicked rush. “Peter!”

“But I’ve committed to Chicago.”

“Well, un-commit!”

“Parker, pull over,” Michelle urges, feeling a bit queasy in her stomach. He glances at her, slightly concerned, and veers the car towards the side of the road. The vehicle dips again. “You and I, we’re switching.”

Peter blinks and then offers her a small grin. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Michelle stumbles out from the passenger side and into the driver’s seat. She can hear both Ned and Betty breathing out sighs of relief. The engine starts again with ease, but when she goes to hit the gas, there’s another sound.

Betty’s head whips around, paranoid. “What was that?”

“Peter,” Michelle prompts calmly. “You’re going to need to get out and push the car. You drove the back left tire into a ditch.”

“Oh.”  
  


* * *

  
The radio announcer wasn’t lying about the heat.

Michelle keeps one hand on the steering wheel, the other trying and failing to turn on the air conditioning in the car as sweat continues to bead on her skin. Unfortunately, it sputters out dust instead of cool air, making her eyes water.

“Did you know that your car is junk, Parker?” She glances over at him, notices the sheen across his forehead. “The air conditioning doesn’t work, and I’m pretty sure the gas gage is still at the same place as it was when we left five hours ago.”

Peter frowns and places a consoling hand against the dashboard. “She’s got a few faulty parts, but she’s not junk.”

“You got it for a price lower than the rent of your apartment,” Michelle reminds him slowly. “And even then, I’m pretty sure you got ripped off.”

“Maybe just put down the window,” he suggests, but when she tries, it gets stuck halfway down. To be fair, she doubts the windows have ever been used since the car was bought. 

“Yeah, you need a new car.”

“But I don’t want a new car.”

“Peter,” Ned speaks up from the back. “You _need_ a new car. This has to change.”

“I don’t like change,” Peter mumbles, frowning.

“Everything in the world changes, Parker,” Michelle murmurs, flicking on the turn signal. “Sometimes, you just need to change with it.” She pauses, taking note of the sign for rest-stops. 

Peter twists in his seat, an uncertainty flickering across his face for a split-second. That’s wiped clean, though, and he smiles back at Ned and Betty. “Are you guys sure you don’t need to talk anything else out?”

“There’s nothing else to talk about,” Betty admits. 

Peter frowns, shaking his head, confusion raking his expression. “There’s always something to talk about. You don’t want to figure out what it is that makes your relationship not work? Or at least...try?”

“Sometimes, it is what it is. We might never figure it out, and that’s probably part of the problem,” Ned says, shrugging.

“But how are you okay with it? With not trying everything you can to save your relationship?”

Betty looks at Ned and smiles softly. “Because we’ll always be friends, you know? And for us, that’s enough.”

Peter shakes his head, brows pinched. “I just...I don’t get that. I don’t understand how that’s enough when you’re still letting go of someone you love.” He sighs, scrubbing his jaw. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a couples therapist. I just can’t grasp this.”

“It’s all about change, Peter,” Michelle murmurs, turning the car into the parking lot. “You have to be able to adapt to it.”

Peter swallows, eyes averted, and then blindly reaches for the door handle. “I’m just...I’m going to…” He trails off, pulling himself out of the car before she even has a chance to turn park it.

Betty is the one to speak up first. “Where is he going?”

“I don’t know,” Michelle exhales, frowning. She turns the car off. “You guys should probably get something to eat. I’ll go find him...make sure he doesn’t ditch us for some traveling gypsies.”

There are already a lot of people crowded inside the rest-stop when she steps inside, so it’s a lot more difficult to find Peter than Michelle would’ve liked. She isn’t ashamed to admit that the male restroom was the first place she checked, but nada. 

It takes a few more minutes of wandering around the food court for her to finally find him, even though it’s by accident. They’d bumped into each other as he had come by with a soft pretzel in his hand.

“Oh,” Peter breathes, slightly surprised. “Sorry. I just…I wanted to get food. I should’ve gotten you one, though. I can go back—”

“That’s okay,” Michelle says, gesturing to a table instead. They both sit down, and she remains quiet, watching as he takes small bites of his pretzel. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Hmm? Nothing’s going on.”

“Come on. You’ve been acting relatively...weirder than normal, and you jumped out of the car while it was moving.” She flips her hand up, an offer, and he slips his palm into it. “What’s up?”

“It really isn’t…it’s not a big deal,” Peter mumbles, his thumb pressing gentle strokes against her skin. “I’m just making it one.”

Michelle nods, offering him a small smile. “Well, I promise I won’t judge you. Probably.”

“You guys keep talking about change. How the world is changing, people are changing...everything is changing.” Peter swallows. “And I know it’s a part of life, but I hate it so much.”

She squeezes his hand. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he whispers. “I keep thinking that if Ned and Betty keep breaking up, it might be permanent one of these days.”

“It’s okay if they move on,” Michelle says quietly. “High school relationships don’t always last.”

Peter bobs his head up and down. “You’re going to be studying abroad in England soon for your Master’s degree, and I hate that, too. I’m happy for you, of course I am, but what if things change too much, and we don’t…”

“You’re worried about that?”

“Aren’t you?”

Michelle shakes her head slightly. “There are the changes you can’t control, and there are the changes you can. I know what I’m going to England for, and I know what I want. That’s not up to the universe or whatever. It’s up to me. So, unless you make some rash decision…”

“No. No, I would never,” Peter says, breathing out a small laugh, pretzel abandoned for both of her hands.

“Then you’re my ride-or-die,” she tells him honestly. 

Peter’s smile stretches, and he squeezes her hands with as much strength as possible without going so far as to break them. “Like our business.”

“Like our business but better.”

Peter stands up, bringing Michelle with him and into his arms. He kisses her forehead, whispering the words, “I love you,” against her skin. 

And that’s worth so much more than a business bound to make millions.

“Come on,” Michelle utters, unable to hide her smile as she tugs him by his hands toward the doors. “Ned and Betty are probably waiting in the car. I told them to get food, so hopefully they listened.”

“What about you?”

Michelle shrugs. “The driver gets to starve.”

“I’ll drive if you eat?” And Peter must see her look of apprehension, because he gives her a reassuring grin. “Promise I won’t crash again.”

“Again, he says, like that’ll make me feel better,” she sighs, yet still gives him the keys. They make it back to the car after getting a sandwich for her, and he takes the driver’s seat, much to the others’ dismay.

Ned looks between them, hand buried in a carton of fries. “That isn’t...a good idea?”

“I’m hungry,” Michelle defends.

“Relax, guys. I got my license for a reason, you know,” Peter says, turning the key. The car starts up, and he looks back to reverse.

But there’s a crash.

“Peter!”

“Oh, my god, that was an accident!”


End file.
